GM stops renovations in Warren, Pontiac

GM's Warren Technical Center, Vehicle Engineering Center is seen in this May 14, 2015, file photo. General Motors Co. is halting renovations to the Warren Technical Center and Pontiac propulsion headquarters as part of its recent cost-cutting measures.(Photo11: Daniel Mears, Detroit News, file)

General Motors Co. is halting renovations to the Warren Technical Center and Pontiac propulsion headquarters as part of its recent cost-cutting measures.

GM said last year it was in the final stages of a multiyear $1 billion investment in the Tech Center, which was supposed to modernize and improve the automaker's suburban campus to help attract and retain the next generation of engineers, designers and tech workers.

Renovations in Pontiac were to include updates to the aging building and workspaces. A GM spokesman said employees at the Pontiac propulsion center and design center were notified last week of the halted projects, first reported by Automotive News.

The postponing of these construction projects comes as GM is offering buyouts to 18,000 salaried workers in North America, despite reporting strong third-quarter financial results with an 8.8 percent profit margin worldwide on $3.2 billion in pre-tax earnings.

GM called these "proactive steps" as the industry braces for a downturn and GM makes costly bets on the electrification, autonomy and mobility of Auto 2.0.

The Detroit automaker plans to save $6.5 billion in cost efficiencies through 2018, some $6.3 billion of which it has already achieved through the third quarter. CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said GM is on track to hit its efficiency goals by the end of the year.